The Procedure for Interacting with Contractors in Harmony – or How Internal Production Culture is Reflected in Our Partners

From Idea to Admission: When Work with a Contractor Begins

Interaction with contractors is one of the most complex areas of responsibility in occupational safety. Traditionally, the HSE department joins the process at the stage when the contract is already signed, and the partner comes to obtain site admission. Alexander Bogdanov, an expert with twenty years of experience in the oil and gas industry, proposes a radically different approach: contractor admission should begin the moment the need for the service is formed.

The speaker analyzes a typical situation: the business demands immediate fulfillment of obligations, while safety specialists demand compliance with procedures. This creates double standards and friction. The process of obtaining admission turns into a thorny path, where the partner often starts work even before official permission due to deadline pressure and penalties. To avoid this, it is necessary to involve the HSE function at the stage of forming the technical specification.

Interaction Architecture: From Chaos to System

The speaker demonstrates by example how important it is to create a transparent management model for the process of engaging third parties. Given the trend towards outsourcing auxiliary processes, companies need to analyze huge arrays of data to form requirements for contractors. The lack of a system leads to chaos and conflicts between procurement, quality control, and service provision functions.

To solve this problem, it is proposed to form cross-functional task management teams. Such a team includes: a leader (service initiator), a data manager, an HSE consultant (methodologist for safe work execution), and an on-site executor. The success of this model depends on the leader's competencies and their ability to build a mirrored management system that extends to all process participants, including contractors and subcontractors.

Requirements Constructor and Risk Management

The presentation details a risk management tool — the creation of templates and a requirements constructor. It is impossible to account for all nuances in a legal contract. Therefore, the speaker suggests separating the technical specification (what, how, and with what to do) and a separate document defining the conditions for the safe provision of the service. This document has equal status with the contract and is signed by both parties.

This approach allows the partner to estimate the costs of ensuring safe working conditions in advance and include them in the cost of services. The initiator, using template factors, can automatically determine the risk group of the service and form a set of mandatory measures for the counterparty at the selection stage. This builds a barrier logic in the risk-oriented approach system.

Development Strategy and Safety Culture

Developing a contractor interaction system requires strategic planning: from short-term tasks (analysis of the current state) to long-term ones (phased implementation of processes). The speaker emphasizes that the initial concept should be as ambitious as possible. Only large trend-setting companies can afford to shape an interaction culture that other market participants are forced to adapt to.

Occupational safety culture begins with attention to detail and the readiness of leaders to take responsibility. As the expert notes, it is important not just to hand down directives from above, but to listen to executors, creating an environment where safe work becomes a natural need rather than a formal requirement.

What you will learn from this webinar:

• At what stage should the HSE department join the work with a new contractor?
• How to form a cross-functional team to manage the service provision process?
• How to use a requirements constructor to minimize risks when selecting a counterparty?
• How to properly separate the technical specification and safety requirements?
• How does contractor staff turnover affect the overall occupational safety culture?